精读24：A skeleton in the cupboard

导读：

A skeleton in the cupboard（柜中骷髅）指“惊人的秘密”

作者发现了什么惊人的秘密，为什么如此惶恐？

George为何家藏“骷髅”？

阅读英语趣文，寻找答案。

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第24篇精读

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精读原文

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We often read in novels how a seemingly respectable person or family has some terrible secret which has been concealed from strangers for years. The English language possesses a vivid saying to describe this sort of situation. The terrible secret is called 'a skeleton in the cupboard'. At some dramatic moment in the story, the terrible secret becomes known and a reputation is ruined. The reader's hair stands on end when he reads in the final pages of the novel that the heroine, a dear old lady who had always been so kind to everybody, had, in her youth, poisoned every one of her five husbands.

It is all very well for such things to occur in fiction. To varying degrees, we all have secrets which we do not want even our closest friends to learn, but few of us have skeletons in the cupboard. The only person I know who has a skeleton in the cupboard is George Carlton, and he is very pound of the fact. George studied medicine in his youth. Instead of becoming a doctor, however, he became a successful writer of detective stories. I once spent an uncomfortable weekend which I shall never forget at his house. George showed me to the guestroom which, he said, was rarely used. He told me to unpack my things and then come down to dinner. After I had stacked my shirts and underclothes in two empty drawers, I decided to hang one of the two suits I had brought with me in the cupboard. I opened the cupboard door and then stood in front of it petrified. A skeleton was dangling before my eyes. The sudden movement of the door made it sway slightly and it gave me the impression that it was about to leap out at me. Dropping my suit, I dashed downstairs to tell George. This was worse than "a terrible secret'; this was a real skeleton! But George was unsympathetic. 'Oh, that,' he said with a smile as if he were talking about an old friend. 'That's Sebastian. You forget that I was a medical student once upon a time.'

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精读注解：

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skeleton /'skelɪtən/: the structure consisting of all the bones in a human or animal body〔人体或动物的〕骨骼，如：Excavations-have found one small tomb holding the skeleton of a little girl. 挖掘处还发现一处小型墓穴，里面有一具小女孩的骨骼。

Askeleton in the cupboard：to have an embarrassing orunpleasant secret about something that happened in the past，“柜中骷髅”，“家丑”

摘自：https://dictionary.cambridge.org/

参考译文：“家丑”

We often read in novels how a seemingly respectable person or family has some terrible secret which has been concealed from strangers for years. The English language possesses a vivid saying to describe this sort of situation. The terrible secret is called 'a skeleton in the cupboard'. At some dramatic moment in the story, the terrible secret becomes known and a reputation is ruined. The reader's hair stands on end when he reads in the final pages of the novel that the heroine, a dear old lady who had always been so kind to everybody, had, in her youth, poisoned every one of her five husbands.

seemingly /'siːmɪŋlɪ/：appearing to have a particular quality, when this may or may not be true看上去，表面上，外观上，如：A few very young children will learn to read, seemingly without effort, but these are the exception. 有几个年龄非常小的孩子将学习阅读，看起来似乎毫不费力，但这些是特例。

respectable /rɪ'spektəbəl/：someone who is respectable behaves in a way that is considered socially acceptable〔行为〕体面的；正派的；受人尊敬的，如：hard-working, respectable people 勤勉可敬的人

conceal /kən'siːl/：to hide something carefully隐匿，隐藏，隐瞒〔真实感情或真相〕搭配：conceal sth. from sb.，如：She was taking drugs and trying to conceal it from me. 她在吸毒，还想瞒住我。

【难句解析】We often read in novels how a seemingly respectable person or family has some terrible secret which has been concealed from strangers for years.：①how为连接副词，引导宾语从句，作read的宾语；②which为关系代词，引导定语从句，修饰先行词secret

vivid /'vɪvɪd/：vivid memories, dreams, descriptions etc are so clear that they seem real〔记忆、梦境、描述等〕生动的，逼真的，清晰的，如：I’ve got vivid memories of that summer. 我对那年夏天记忆犹新。

【熟词僻义】some：used when you are talking about a person or thing that you do not know, remember, or understand, or when you think it does not matter某个，有个 〔用于谈到不认识、不记得或不明白的人或事物，或用于表示是谁、是什么无所谓〕，其后名词须用单数形式，如：Some guy called for you while you were gone. 你走了以后有个人打电话找你。

dramatic /drə'mætɪk/：exciting or impressive激动人心的；给人深刻印象的，如：the dramatic scenery of the Grand Canyon 大峡谷的壮丽景致

ruin/'ruːɪn/：to spoil or destroy something completely毁坏，毁掉，糟蹋，如：This illness has ruined my life. 这个病毁掉了我的生活。

The reader's hair stands on end：读者感到毛骨悚然。on end：本文是“竖立着”之意，另外还有“连续地”意思，如：But it can be played for hours on end.但它也能让你连续玩上个几小时。

heroine /'herəʊɪn/：the woman or girl who is the main character in a book, film, play etc女主角，女主人公，如：Mira, the fictional heroine of ‘The Women’s Room’ 迈拉，小说《女厕》的女主人公

【难句解析】The reader's hair stands on end when he reads in the final pages of the novel that the heroine, a dear old lady who had always been so kind to everybody, had, in her youth, poisoned every one of her five husbands. ①when引导时间状语从句，当……时候；②that引导宾语从句，作read的宾语；③in her youth：时间状语提前，表强调

参考译文：在小说中，我们经常读到一个表面上受人尊重的人物或家庭，却有着某种多年不为人所知的骇人听闻的秘密。英语中有一个生动的说法来形容这种情况。惊人的秘密称作“柜中骷髅”。在小说的某个戏剧性时刻，可怕的秘密泄漏出来，接着便是某人的声誉扫地。当读者读到小说最后几页了解到书中女主人公，那位一向待大家很好的可爱的老妇人年轻时一连毒死了她的5个丈夫时，不禁会毛骨悚然。

It is all very well for such things to occur in fiction.To varying degrees, we all have secrets which we do not want even our closest friends to learn, but few of us have skeletons in the cupboard. The only person I know who has a skeleton in the cupboard is George Carlton, and he is very pound of the fact. George studiedmedicine in his youth. Instead of becoming a doctor, however, he became a successful writer of detective stories. I once spent an uncomfortable weekend which I shall never forget at his house. George showed me to the guestroomwhich, he said, was rarely used. He told me to unpack my things and then come down to dinner. After I had stacked my shirts and underclothes in two emptydrawers, I decided to hang one of the two suits I had brought with me in the cupboard. I opened the cupboard door and then stood in front of it petrified. A skeleton was dangling before my eyes. The sudden movement of the door made it sway slightly and it gave me the impression that it was about to leap out at me. Dropping my suit, I dashed downstairs to tell George. This was worse than "a terrible secret'; this was a real skeleton! But George was unsympathetic. 'Oh, that,' he said with a smile as if he were talking about an old friend. 'That's Sebastian. You forget that I was a medical student once upon a time.'

fiction /'fɪkʃən/：books and stories about imaginary people and events小说，如：romantic fiction 爱情小说

It is all very well for such things to occur in fiction：it在句中为形式主语

varying /'vɛəriŋ/：adj. marked by diversity or difference不同的；变化的，如：To varying degrees, they all have issues with installation, documentation, design tools, packaging, and deployment.

【熟词僻义】learn：①If you learn something, you obtain knowledge or a skill through studying or training.学习，如：Their children were going to learn English. 他们的孩子们打算学英语。②If you learn of something, you find out about it. 得知，如：It was only after his death that she learned of his affair with Betty. 是在他去世之后她才得知他和贝蒂的风流事。③If you learn from an unpleasant experience, you change the way you behave so that it does not happen again or so that, if it happens again, you can deal with it better. 从…吸取教训，如：I am convinced that he has learned from his mistakes.  我确信他已经从错误中吸取了教训。

【语法小学堂】①a few与few：修饰可数名词，a few表肯定，“一些”、“几个”，few表否定，“几乎没有”、“没几个”，如：I have a few friends.我有几个朋友。I have few friends.我没几个朋友。②a little与little：一般修饰不可数名词，a little表肯定，“有一些”、“有点儿”， little表否定，“几乎没有”、“没什么”，如：I have a little money.我有点钱。I have little money.我没什么钱。

be proud of：为……而自豪／骄傲：如：I am proud of my motherland.我为我的祖国感到自豪。

medicine /ˈmedsn/：the treatment and study of illnesses and injuries医术；医学，如：the remarkable achievements of modern medicine 现代医学的非凡成就

Instead of：“不是”、“反而”等，一般表示情况有所不同。如：Instead of abating, the wind is blowing even harder. 风不但没停，反而越刮越大了

guestroom /'gestrum/：a bedroom that is kept for the use of guests（家庭中的）来客住房，如：In the spring-cleaning Mother forgot about the three guestroom upstairs. 大扫除时妈妈忘了楼上的三间客房

unpack /ʌn'pæk/: to take everything out of a box, bag, suitcase etc打开〔盒子、包、手提箱等〕取出〔物品〕，如：I haven’t had a chance to unpack yet. 我还没来得及打开行李

stack /stæk/：If you stack a number of things, you arrange them in neat piles.堆放; 摞起，如：Mrs. Cathiard was stacking the clean bottles in crates. 卡提亚夫人当时正在把干净的瓶子堆放到板条箱里

underclothes /'ʌndəkləʊðz/：clothes that you wear next to your body under your other clothes内衣，如：The lace on the underclothes had got loose. 内衣上的花边松了。

drawer /drɔ: /：part of a piece of furniture, such as a desk, that you pull out and push in and use to keep things in抽屉，如：She took a file from her desk drawer . 她从书桌的抽屉里拿出了一个文件夹。

hang /hæŋ/：to attach sth, or to be attached, at the top so that the lower part is free or loose 悬挂；吊，如：Hang your coat up on the hook. 把你的大衣挂在衣钩上。

I decided to hang one of the tow suits I had brought with me in the cupboard.：本句省略了that/which，即：I decided to hang one of the tow suits(that/which) I had brought with me in the cupboard.我随身带来的两套衣服中的一套。

petrify /'petrɪfaɪ/: to make sb feel extremely frightened 使吓呆；使惊呆，如：There are selves that petrify you when you think about them and selves that you could die of a heart attack looking at. 存在吓呆自己的自我，当你们考虑它们时候，而你们会死于心脏惊吓的自我就看着。

and then stood in front of it petrified：本句中的stood是系动词，后加形容词、名词、分词等，表示主语处于某种状态，简化为stood petrified。

dangle /'dæŋgəl/: to hang or swing loosely, or to make something do this（使）悬垂，（使）吊着，（使）悬荡，如：A light bulb dangled from a wire in the ceiling. 一只灯泡悬吊在天花板的一根电线上。

sway /sweɪ/：to move slowly from one side to another摇摆，摆动，摇晃，如：The trees swayed gently in the breeze. 树木在和风中轻轻摇曳。

【难句解析】it gave me the impression that it was about to leap out at me.①that引导同位语从句，修饰impression；②be about to do sth.：即将做……，如：We are about to leave home.我们就要出门了。

unsympathetic /,ʌnsɪmpə'θetɪk/：not kind or helpful to someone who is having problems无同情心的，冷漠的，不同情的，如：He described reports that he and his wife were unsympathetic to victims as untrue". 他表述说那些说他和他的妻子对受害人毫无同情的报道是不真实的。

medical /'medɪkəl/：relating to medicine and the treatment of disease or injury医学的；医疗的，如：a medical student 医科学生

参考译文：这种事发生在小说中是无可非议的。尽管我们人人都有各种大小秘密。连最亲密的朋友都不愿让他们知道，但我们当中极少有人有柜中骷髅。我所认识的唯一的在柜中藏骷髅的人便是乔治•卡尔顿，他甚至引以为自豪。乔治年轻时学过医，然而，他后来没当上医生，却成了一位成功的侦探小说作家。有一次，我在他家里度周末，过得很不愉快。这事我永远不会忘记。乔治把我领进客房，说这间房间很少使用。他让我打开行装后下楼吃饭。我将衬衫、内衣放进两个空抽屉里，然后我想把随身带来的两套西服中的一套挂到大衣柜里去。我打开柜门，站在柜门前一下子惊呆了。一具骷髅悬挂在眼前，由于柜门突然打开，它也随之轻微摇晃起来，让我觉得它好像马上要跳出柜门朝我扑过来似的。我扔下西服冲下楼去告诉乔治。这是比“骇人听闻的秘密”更加惊人的东西，这是一具真正的骷髅啊！但乔治却无动于衷。“噢，是它呀！”他笑着说道，俨然在谈论一位老朋友。“那是塞巴斯蒂安。你忘了我以前是学医的了。”

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Summary writing：(last paragraph)

用不多于80个单词描述作者进入客房后的故事发展。（摘自新概念英语教师用书新版3）

The writer started to unpack and put his shirts and underclothes into drawers and then decided to hang a suit in the cupboard. He opened the cupboard and stood petrified: there, dangling in front of him, was a skeleton. It was swaying and ready to leap out at him. He dropped his suit and dashed downstairs to tell George. George was unsympathetic and told the writer it was Sebastian, a skeleton he had when he was a medical students

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精读：A skeleton in the cupboard